Arch lift



Oct. 17, 1933. M. G. wAKsMUNDzKA 1,930,889

ARCH LIFT Filed Feb. 25, 195s INTERA/AL Cans/FORM F7957- METATHSHL,S'CQPHo/D 2O 2,0 Z0

@www

arly/wen',

Patented oct. 17, 1933 PATENT oFF1cEj ARCH LIFT Maria G. Waksmundzka,Washington, D. C.

Application February 25, 1933. Serial No. 658,602

2 Claims.

My invention is an arch lift.

As is well known, the condition of falling arch of the foot is caused bythe lowering of the diternal cuneiform and rst metatarsal bones,

5 which is caused by the giving away of the muscles and ligamentsadjacent to the articulated surfaces. These bones have an outergenerally concave outline in a longitudinal direction.

I have discovered that if a flexible and resilient l0 lifting pad isarranged upon the arch of the foot, adjacent to these bones, and ofsuitable shape and size so that it will exert a proper upward and inwardpressure upon these bones, near their articulated surfaces, that thesebones will be gradually lifted and restored to their normal position.When this is done, ordinarily the remaining bones of the foot follow,and re` turn to the normal position, and the foot is restored to itsnormal strength and flexibility. 2O The lifting pad, due to itsflexibility and resistency in use, serves to exercise and massage themuscles and ligaments adjacent to these bones, thereby strengthening thesame and aiding in correcting the condition. y

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, andin which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

Figure l is a'plan view of an arch lift embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is anend elevation of the same,

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on'line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2,and,

Figure 5 is a plan view of the bones of the foot, illustrating theapplication of the device to the same.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of 40 illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 10 designates anattaching sole, which is advantageously formed of thin flexiblematerial, such as leather. This attaching sole embodies a heel portion1l, 'a' sole portion 12, and a restricted intermediate pornon 13.

The numeral 14 designates a lifting pad, which is flexible andresilient. This pad is preferably formed of rubber and is compressibleand re-V silient, but is Vnot as compressible as sponge rubber. Thedegree of compressibility of the rubber may vary, and I have found thatsatisfactory results are obtainable by using a rubber havingsubstantially the same degree of compressibility as is found in theordinary office rubber band.

An important feature of the invention is the precise shape andarrangement of the lifting pad 14. This lifting pad is longitudinallycurved, as shown as Figure 4, and has an inner convex face 15, and anouter concave face 16. In addition to this, the pad tapers throughoutits entireilength, terminating in relatively thin edges 17. The freeedge of the pad is also curved in a more or less Vertical plane.

Figure 3 illustrates the precise shape of the pad 14, in cross section.This pad tapers upwardly to a thin edge 18, and tapers downwardly to athin edge 19, with its innermost contact portion 20, nearV its center.The general shape of the inner face 15 of the pad is spherical, the samebeing convex both vertically and horizontallyfV `vThe pad 14 is mountedupon the attaching sole 10, with the adjacent edge of the solepreferably engaging about the outer side of lthe pad, at its marginaledge, these parts being secured together by cement or the like. Theeffectiveness of the device depends largely upon the fact that it ismade in precisely the correct shape and size, for each foot and shoe,and it is therefore, necessary that the device must be made in sizescorresponding to the sizes of the shoes. The device is arranged withinthe shoe so that the lifting pad 14 will be adjacent to the innerlongitudinal arch of the foot. The attaching sole is made in the propersize and shape for the particular shoe, and is so correlated with thelifting'pad 14, that when the attaching sole is properly located in theshoe to coincide with the shoe sole, the lifting pad will be in lthecorrect position. After being properly located in the shoe, theattaching sole` is cemented to the shoe sole. This holds the lifting padagainst being displaced bodily, but due to the flexibility of theattaching sole and pad, the pad may flex or yield, during the walkingaction, so that it will properly massage and exercise the adjacentmuscles and ligaments.

Figure 5 indicates the position that the lifting pad assumes withrespect to the bones of the foot. It will be noted that the internalcuneiform and first metatarsal bones, at their outei sides, assume agenerally convex relation in a longitudinal direction, covered of courseby the flesh. The convex shape of the face 15 perr mits the lifting padto conform generally to this relation of these bones. Further, theconvex face of theV pad is so shaped that it exerts the maximum pressureupon the inner portions of the internal cuneiforrn and rst metatarsalbones, and also adjacent to their inner articulated surfaces. It will benoted that vthe portion 2li-of the pad 14 is arranged adjacent to .andopposite the articulated ends 20 of the internal cuneiforrn and firstmetatarsal bones. The edge or line 19 constitutes the effective edge ofattachment between the lifting pad 14 and sole 10. The pad 14 istransversely inclined and projects laterally beyond this eifective edgeof attachment 19. The entire area of the lifting pad 14 is thereforearranged outwardly of the under the foot, which is that area of theattaching sole l0 between the edge 19 and the opposite edge of theattaching sole, is entirely uncovered by the lifting pad. This preservesthe thin character of the attaching sole 10 beneath the foot, which isimportant. By virtue of the precise arrangement of the lifting pad andattaching sole, the lifting pad exerts vertical and horizontal forcesupon the longitudinal side arch of the foot and a resultant force at anangle of substantially from the horizontal passing through the maximumpoint of protuberance 20, and acting upon that end of the firstmetatarsal bone adjacent to the cuneiform bone. This force at an angleof substantially 45 from the vertical not only serves to elevate thisend of the first metatarsal bone, but also serves to turn the end of thebone inwardly, restoring it to its normal position. Particular attentionis called to the fact, as shown in Figure 5, that the inner face of thelifting pad 14 is sufciently long to extend over the first metatarsal,internal cuneiform and scaphoid bones, exerting pressure lupon all ofthem. This lifting force is in two general directions, namely, upwardlyand horizontally, at generally a right angle to each other, as shown atFigure 3, with the resultant force in an inclined direction at an angleof approximately 45 degrees from the horizontal. These forces areindicated by the arrows in Figure 3. The pad 14 therefore exerts anupward and lateral pressure upon these bones, which pressure iscontinuous but yieldable, with the result that the bones are free tomove properly, but are lifted or supported and worked back to the normalelevated positions. Due to the flexibility and resiliency of the pad 14,it not only serves to elevate these bones, but also serves to massageand exercise the adjacent muscles and ligaments, which in turn,strengthens the foot and aids in its return to a normal condition. Thelifting pad 14 does not extend under the sole of the foot, to anyconsiderable distance, and therefore does not function to exert any truevertical lifting action. This lifting pad serves to apply a liftingforce to the side face of the arch, which maximum force is exertedgenerally upv wardly at the inclination of about 45 degrees from thehorizontal.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed, is to be taken as the preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is:--

1. A device for lifting the inner longitudinal arch of the foot, saiddevice being made in the proper size corresponding to the size of theshoe being worn, said device comprising a relatively thin attaching soleincluding a heel portion and an intermediate portion having a curvededge adjacent to the inner longitudinal arch, said attaching sole beingadapted to be secured to the shoe in the correct position therein, and aflexible and resilient lifting padrsecured to the attaching soleadjacent to the curved longitudinal edge thereof,the effective edge ofattachment between the sole and pad being such that the major portion ofthe solebeneath the foot is uncovered by the pad, the lifting pad beingtransversely inclined and having .the major portion of its areaprojecting laterally beyond the said effective edge of attachment, thelifting pad having a face which is longitudinally convex andtransversely convex and having a maximum point of protuberance arrangednear the center of such face, the lifting pad being so positioned uponthe attaching sole that the maximum point of protuberance is arrangedbeneath and in substantial transverse vertical alignment with thearticulated ends of the internal cuneiformand first metatarsal bones,the location of -the lifting pad at the effective edge of attachment andits transverse inclination aboveandlaterally beyond such effective edgeof attachment bringinggthe maximum point of protuberance llaterallyoutwardly of such effective edge offattachment thereby causing thelifting. pad to exert substantially vertical and horizontal pressuresupon the inner longitudinal arch and resultant pressure at an angle ofapproximately 45 from the horizontal through the maximum pointrofprotuberance which will elevate the end of the. first metatarsal boneadjacent tothe internal cuneiform bone and turn the same inwardly to thenormal position.

2. A device for lifting the inner longitudinal arch of the foot, saiddevice being madev in the proper size corresponding y to the size oftheshoe being worn, said device comprising a relatively thin attachingsole including a -heel portion andr an intermediate portion having acurved edge adjacent to the inner longitudinal arch, saidvattaching solebeing adapted to be secured to the shoe in the correct positiontherein,and a flexible and resilient lifting pad secured to the attaching soleadjacent to the curved longitudinal edge thereof, the effective edge ofattachment between the sole and pad being-such that the major portion ofthe sole beneath the Vfoot is uncovered bythe pad, the lifting pad beingtransversely inclined and having substantially its lentire areaprojecting laterally beyond the said effective edge of attachment, theliftingpad having an innerface which is longitudinally convex andtransversely convex and having a maximum point of .protuberance arrangednear theV center of such inner face, the inner face being of such alength that it extends over and exerts pressure upon ythe firstmetatarsal, internal cuneiform and scaphoid bones, the lifting` padbeing so positioned upon the attaching sole that the maximum point ofprotuberance is l.arranged beneath and in substantial transversevertical alignment with the articulated ends of the internal cuneiformand first metatarsal bones, the location of the lifting pad at theeffective edge of attachment and its transverse inclination above andilaterally beyond such effective edge of attachment bringing the maximumpoint of Yprotuberance laterally outwardly of. such effective edge ofattachment thereby causing'the liftingl padl to exert substantialvertical and horizontal pressures and a resultant pressure at lan angleof approximately 45 from the vertical through the maximum point ofprotuberance which will elevate the end of the first metatarsal boneadjacent to the internal cuneiform bone andl turn the same inwardlytothe normal position.

MARIA G. WAKSMUNDZKA.

